Yesterday Dave and I went for drive to some small ranching towns near where we are camped. I was talking about a friend who lives there and how it’s been over thirty years since we’ve seen her. I wished we had thought to contact her and tried to arrange a meet up.
We stopped at a bar-b-que place for lunch and were seated near the window. Dave looked out and said “I think that’s her”. I did a double take and sure enough, it looked like her. I headed out of the restaurant and down the street. I called her name but no response. When I got closer I realized it was a case of mistaken identity and I apologized to the woman.
It was a disappointment to say the least.
Has anyone ever mistaken you for someone else? I know I’ve had it happen to me a few times. It’s pretty easy to do. It’s also something that happens every day when it comes to character.
A person who is clean and sober runs into someone they knew when they were an addict and they get treated as if they hadn’t changed. A person who was selfish and self-indulgent turns over a new leaf but they’re held at arms length by those they have slighted.
David, the shepherd boy, had a case of mistaken identity. Golaith, the seasoned warrior, mistook David for an unskilled, scrawny youth. What Golaith didn’t see was the bold, God-fearing, young man who had killed a lion and a bear. Goliath’s case of mistaken identity brought him to his death.
“Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory.” I John 5:4 CEV
We are as guilty as Golaith in some of our misjudgements.
We look in the mirror and see ourselves as weak or inadequate. Moses told God that he couldn’t deliver the Israelites because he stuttered. But God saw the man Moses was on the inside and used him anyway. I’ve heard it said that God doesn’t choose the qualified, instead He equips the willing.
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” II Corinthians 5:17 NLT
What are some of the things you, or others, have been saying you can’t do? You’re not qualfied, you’re not equipped to handle. We have a new identity – we are empowered by God for the task at hand.
“I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.” Philippians 4:13 NLV
Don’t look back at who you once were. Look forward at who God has called you to be!
I am so thankful for my new identity in Christ!